One man awaiting trial, second sought on illegal credit card charges for gas

Written by Marty Randall

Tuesday, 14 August 2012 00:00

A jailed suspect is awaiting his November 19 trial on 15 counts of forgery, conspiracy and burglary while a second man is being sought for similar offenses in a case of apparent fraudulent charges made on a gas card owned by Stucker Fork Water Utility.

The Scott County Sheriff's Department was notified by a supervisor with the water utility in late June that multiple unauthorized purchases had been put on the utility's credit card. A rumor that an employee had been making the purchases had reached the management, the supervisor explained. When a check was done, all of the charges were made when employee Brandon Van Dyke, 26, Scottsburg, was on duty, he said.

All of the purchases were made between 4 p.m. and 8 a.m. or during weekend shifts when all of the credit cards were secured in a desk, Chief Deputy Donald Campbell learned. A check with a local gas station where some of the charges originated revealed that a light-colored mini-van was at the pumps in security tapes.

Van Dyke allegedly admitted to the supervisor that he had taken gas cards out of other Stucker Fork vehicles and used them to buy gas for himself and a girlfriend. Van Dyke also reportedly stated that he had let friends use the cards as well. The young man also said he had forced his way into the shop area to obtain cards.

In total, Stucker Fork records showed unauthorized charges in excess of $12,950 for April, May and June.

In a later interview with Chief Deputy Campbell, Van Dyke purportedly admitted to using the cards illegally for the past 18 months. When his friends used the cards, he would sometimes get paid by them or sometimes he let them use them free of charge.

Most recently, Van Dyke said a friend he only knew as "James" had been coming to the plant and getting a card and then returning it to Van Dyke.

Through Van Dyke's description of "James," Chief Deputy Campbell said the department was able to develop James M. Haycraft, 26, Austin, as a suspect. Haycraft, who resides on Wilbur Avenue, was interviewed by the officer on July 24. According to the probable cause affidavit, Haycraft admitted to being involved in the gas scheme, stating that "...he knew there was no way that Van Dyke would be authorized to use that much gas, but that they had been doing it for so long, they just kept doing it." Haycraft allegedly admitted to using a gas card nearly every day. He said the two would "unload" the gas at Van Dyke's residence on State Road 56 East and then sell it for $2 per gallon.

Van Dyke's charges include three counts of burglary, three counts of conspiracy to commit burglary, three counts of forgery, three counts of conspiracy to commit forgery and three counts of aiding forgery, all as Class C felonies.

He had his initial court hearing in Scott Circuit Court on August 6, and his bond is set at $50,000 corporate surety/full cash. Van Dyke is an inmate at the Scott County Security Center.

Haycraft had not yet been located by law enforcement officers as of Monday, August 13. He has 12 Class C felony charges filed against him, including three of conspiracy to commit burglary, three of conspiracy to commit forgery, three of aiding forgery and three of forgery.